Quote:
Originally Posted by The Phantom Gourmand
Yup, a LOT of obviously new boaters. I can't believe the number of boats that I've seen cut between the black markers on the northern side of Eagle Island. I'm sure I've seen at least a dozen this year already and I cringe every time..I guess it's a good thing the lake is still relatively high.
We were all new boaters once, and like the newbies out there now, I'm sure we all made our share of mistakes, it just seems like there are more of them this year. All we can do is be patient, help where we can, and try our best to not let any newbie or any other perhaps unknowing inconsiderate boater ruin our time out there.
I try to enjoy all my precious moments on the water.
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As to complaints about New Hampshire's "newbie boaters":
Weather forecasting has improved over the decade, so that boaters from neighboring states can just "drop in". Gloomy weather can be expected to concentrate
all boaters into sunny weekends—not just "newbie" boaters.
Our worst July weather in a decade has some blame for concentrating boaters onto Lake Winnipesaukee: our tenants were here for ten days in July, and went home
without their customary sunburns.
NH has reciprocity regarding licensure—
some "exams" are better than others.
The first states with such "exams"—CT and NJ—were forced to tighten their requirements recently.
This season, I've seen it too—so unless a NH "Safety" club can initiate some form of educational methodology, it's just something we'll have to live with.
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WRT to
NH_boater,
When weather concentrates "newbie" boaters at sandbars, why is legislation proposed to
double the number of boats rafting together, and to
reduce spacing between the rafts?
I propose
again a requirement that all childrens' sizes of PFDs be embossed on the back with NH's unique regulations. For those future boaters, each child will be exposed to the RSAs.
Newbie skippers in those dreaded bow-rider
rentals will be unable to overlook NH's RSAs posted directly in front of them.
